avulsion legal definition

The sudden and perceptible removal or severing of land from the property or jurisdiction of which it was a part by natural forces such as a flood or an abrupt change in the course of a river. Despite the removal or severing of the land, the boundaries between jurisdictions or properties are not altered by avulsion. For example, if a river was the boundary between two states, the boundary remains the same although the course of the river has changed. See also alluvion, accretion and reliction.